Humans naturally use their hands and fingers as a means of gathering information. For example, when moving in a dark environment, humans naturally put their hands out to gather information about their surroundings by touch. Similarly, when a small object is lost, for example, underneath a couch, humans naturally put their hands under the couch to locate the lost object by touch. While gathering information by touch is in some cases an acceptable substitute for seeing, in many situations it may be desirable to “see” the inaccessible environment to better gather information.
In addition to gathering information, humans also naturally use their hands and fingers to convey information. For example, when giving someone directions to a location, many humans naturally use one or more fingers to point towards the location. Similarly, when discussing a particular object, many humans naturally use one or more fingers to point to the object. However, typically the amount and types of information that can be conveyed by a human's hands is limited to specific contexts.